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Earth Dragon Style
Earth Dragon is the most nakedly brutal of all the Fivefold Dragon Paths. It centers around strengthening the body, using its natural muscles to their absolutely greatest effect and inuring the skin and mind against pain of all types. Acolytes train by enduring the worst hardships their masters can conceive, from standing on the slopes of the Imperial Mountain during a blizzard to sleeping on beds of nails and suffering brutal beatings willingly. The style is slower by far than its fellows. Its motions are measured and deliberate, and students take no step or strike with- out knowing its result beforehand. Despite the pace with which they prepare for their actions, their follow-through is as fast and thunderously unstoppable as a falling mountain.' Earth Dragons use the tetsubo as their signature weapon, a huge war club studded with iron. They often make their own upon mastering the style’s Form-type Charm, and no two Earth Immaculates’ weapons look alike. The artifact version of the weapon is a great jade-laced steel club (a grand goremaul) that is usually too heavy for a mortal to even budge'. Masters of the style encourage their students to study Craft and Occult so that they can more easily make their own. When wielding a tetsubo or a grand goremaul, Immaculates of Earth add one point to the Overwhelming quality of such a weapon. Earth Dragon Style may be practiced in armor. Force of the Mountain Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-OK, Leader Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None Pure inward focus and slow, deliberate movement precedes this attack. Many onlookers are surprised by the great damage such a sluggish blow manages to inflict. The Immaculate adds an amount of damage equal to his Essence on a single Melee or Martial Arts attack. He cannot use this Charm with weapons other than the Earth Dragon’s signature weapons—the sledge, the tetsubo or the grand goremaul. Unmoving Mountain Stance Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reﬂexive (Step 10) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: (Martial Arts) minutes Prerequisite Charms: None Like the Imperial Mountain and the Realm’s impervious War Manses, those who emulate Earth are eternal. Steadfast, they study the art of stillness. Invoking this Charm allows the Immaculate to stand stock still for the duration. Beyond its meditative use, an Immaculate using this Charm adds a number of automatic successes equal to her Essence to any attempt to resist being moved or knocked down, as from knockdown or knockback. Her ability to lock her joints and make her muscles as steel also adds these successes to any opposed check to maintain a grapple, as long as she is not attempting to break the hold. Remaining perfectly still can also aid attempts at concealment. As long as the Immaculate has an appropriate hiding place, she adds a like number of automatic successes to her Stealth attempt as long as she does not move. Being able to remain perfectly still might come in handy at other times, as well—such as resisting disarms or holding on for dear life—at the Storyteller’s discretion. Stone Dragon's Skin Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reﬂexive (Step 7) Keywords: Combo-OK, Leader Duration: Until next action Prerequisite Charms: None Dragons of Earth spend months training their bodies to ignore pain and resist harm. After thousands of punches made into tuns of gravel and many hours spent lying between two massive sheets of rock, they learn to channel their Essence into their skin, hardening it against misfortune. The Immaculate adds his Martial Arts rating to his natural lethal and bashing soak until his next action. Furthermore, hard- ening his skin in this way allows him to also parry weapons with his bare hands. Earth Dragon Form Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (-0 DV) Keywords: Form-type, Obvious Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Force of the Mountain, Unmoving Mountain Stance, Stone Dragon’s Skin Taking a wide, low and very stable stance, the Earth Immaculate ﬁ nds her center and uses her Essence to ground herself in the earth. Successful activation of the Earth Dragon Form adds the Immaculate’s Martial Arts to his bashing, lethal and aggravated soaks. This soak cannot be circumvented by any Charm. The monk also gains an equal amount of Hardness. Shattering Fist Strike Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-OK, Leader Duration: (Martial Arts) actions Prerequisite Charms: Earth Dragon Form Immaculates of Earth have an afﬁnity for the inanimate. In many ways, they use objects as one facet of their ideal emulation: a propensity toward stillness, enduring construction and a long- term outlook. This unique perspective gives Immaculates an advantage when taking the inanimate apart. For the duration of the Charm, double the raw damage the Immaculate inﬂicts on objects (but not living things). This effect stacks with others that increase damage done to objects. Weapon-Breaking Defense Technique Cost: Special, +1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Reﬂexive (Step 9) Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Shattering Fist Strike Hidden stones shatter plows, and striking a mountain breaks the blade. Immaculates learn similar tactics. After the Immaculate has activated this Charm, attacking him with a weapon becomes a risky proposal. When the martial artist successfully parries a weapon with this Charm, either barehanded or wielding his form weapon, destroys the attacking weapon. Mundane weapons are destroyed while artifact weapons lose their attunement and all powers for one day. Whether or not the Immaculate fails to destroy the weapon, its bearer’s player must make a reﬂexive (Wits + relevant Ability) roll opposing the Immaculate’s roll or be disarmed (as per the disarming rules). The Essence cost of this Charm is equal to the difﬁculty to destroy the weapon and must be paid before the attempt. If the Exalt does not have enough Essence to use this Charm on a weapon (i.e., he thought an artifact weapon was an unremarkable sword), he spends no Essence and the Charm does not activate. Earthshaker Attack Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Earth Dragon Form Standing on a surface of earth or stone, the Immaculate stomps her foot onto the ground. A shock wave ripples outward from her, and the players of everyone within a number of yards equal to the martial artist’s (Essence x 5) must make a (Dexterity + Resistance) roll at a difﬁculty of the Immaculate’s Essence to avoid knockdown. Anyone who falls takes bashing damage equal to the Immaculate’s Martial Arts, soaked as normal. If this Charm is used while leading a complementary unit, the Charm forces a route check among the character's own forces. Hungry Earth Strike Cost: 5+m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Earthshaker Attack The Immaculate’s hand seems to swell and grow before he strikes the earth with an open palm. The ground shivers, and immediately after, the ground beneath his target opens up beneath her feet and to engulf and immobilize her. The Immaculate’s player rolls (Strength + Martial Arts) against the target’s Dodge DV—this attack cannot be parried. Each net success for the Immaculate adds one to the difﬁculty of all the target’s physical actions. A target affected by the Charm cannot take Move or Dash actions until her player succeeds in a (Strength + Athletics) roll at a difﬁculty equal to the Immaculate’s net successes, which requires a miscellaneous action at -2 DV. If the Immaculate’s net successes exceed the target’s Strength, the attack draws her all the way into the ground. She can take no actions but to attempt to escape, and the difﬁculty of the (Strength + Athletics) roll doubles. At the Immaculate’s discretion, the target might not have any air in her earthen prison. If not, she must hold her breath. Allies may help to free a victim of this Charm, by trying to pull her from the grasping earth or prying at the stone over her head. Treat this as limited teamwork (adding one die to the escape attempt for each person helping). For one additional mote each, the Immaculate can target multiple enemies with a single use of this Charm. He cannot target more victims than double his Essence. Obviously, both the Immaculate and any targets must be on the same earthen or stone surface. Stillness of Stone Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Stackable, Touch Duration: Special Prerequisite Charms: Earth Dragon Form By interrupting a target’s normal Essence ﬂows with immobile earth Essence, the Immaculate can freeze her foes in place. If the Immaculate successfully harms a target with a barehanded attack, she paralyzes and renders him inactive, completely unable to move. The victim endures a number of inactive actions (including the ﬁrst) equal to the levels of damage inﬂicted. If this attack kills a target, it turns his body to stone. His body petriﬁes completely, a permanent and frightening tribute to the Immaculate’s martial prowess. This Charm cannot effect beings of higher Essence than the martial artist and petrification includes nonmagical possessions in the victim's person. Avalanche Method Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling Duration: Special Prerequisite Charms: Stillness of Stone Channeling the heaviness of earth into his opponent, the Immaculate tries to bury her beneath his massive attacks. At the very least, he forces her to assume an inferior ﬁghting posture. On a successful attack, the Immaculate’s player makes a re- ﬂ exive, opposed (Strength + Martial Arts) roll against the target’s (Stamina + Athletics). If the Immaculate wins or ties, he successfully pours earth Essence down on her. In addition to the normal damage inﬂicted by the attack, each net success on the opposed roll inﬂicts a -1 internal penalty to all physical actions on the victim as long as she remains in the Immaculate’s line of sight. Once she escapes the Immaculate’s line of sight, the weight lifts. If the net successes exceed the target’s Stamina, the Charm immobilizes her completely. She must take only inactive actions, but only as long the Immaculate maintains physical contact with her—her form overﬂows with earth Essence, and he must prevent it from pouring out. As long as the Immaculate maintains the proper eye or physical contact, the Charm can last indeﬁnitely. When he releases someone made completely immobile, she still suffers the Charm’s internal penalties until the Immaculate uncommits the motes spent on the Charm or she leaves his line of sight. Finally, trying to take other actions while maintaining contact with a single, immobilized individual is awkward, leveling a -1 external penalty on all physi- cal actions. Holding multiple such victims increases the penalty commensurately. Multiple invocations of this Charm on a single target are not cumulative. Only the most effective application counts. Earth- aspected Dragon-Blooded, already replete with earth Essence, cannot be affected by this Charm, though the attack behind it can still inflict damage. Ghost Grounding Blow Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Supple- mental Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Touch, Compulsion Duration: Special Prerequisite Charms: Avalanche Method, Weapon-Breaking Defense Technique, Hungry Earth Strike Earth is the element of stability and physicality. Touch- ing an immaterial target, the Immaculate uses his connection to the Elemental Dragon of Earth to draw this victim into the corporeal world. Ghost-Grounding Blow does not provide the means to strike an immaterial target, so the monk must ﬁ rst activate Moment of Daana’d or another Charm that allows her to strike immaterial targets. On a successful, unarmed Martial Arts attack, the Immaculate’s player makes an opposed roll of (her Wits + Martial Arts + extra successes on the attack) against the target’s permanent Willpower. If the Immaculate wins, her blow inflicts no damage but she instead forces the target into material form. When the target need spend no Essence to become corporeal (such as an elemental or Eclipse Caste Solar using Dematerialize), it happens immediately. If the target must spend Essence to don a physical form (such as ghosts, gods or demons using Materialize), the Charm forces it to spend that Essence immediately. When the target does not have enough Essence to use that power, the Immaculate must supply the rest. If the two parties combined do not have enough, both lose all their Essence, but the target remains immaterial. Once material, the target must remain material for a number of hours equal to the Immaculate’s Martial Arts Ability. She is in no way prohibited from using any Charms or powers, assuming she has the Essence to do so, apart from those that would dematerialize her. On a tied roll, the entity becomes material as normal but may dematerialize again (if she has that ability) on or after her next action. If the target’s player wins the opposed roll, the at- tack has no effect at all. Neither gods nor demons are fond of this Charm, as it forces them into a weaker position and often precedes the Immaculate’s attempts to destroy them. Creatures with permanent Essences higher than the martial artist’s are immune to this Charm. This Charm requires an expenditure of 5wp to resist. Perfection of Earth Body Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5; Type: Simple (-2 DV) Keywords: Obvious, Leader Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Ghost-Grounding Blow The pinnacle of Earth Dragon Style, this Charm lets the Immaculate truly become one with the exemplar she emulates. Falling to her hands and knees, the martial artist touches her head to the ground to be fully in contact with the body of the Elemental Dragon of Earth. Her skin ripples and petriﬁes, making her into an Immaculate warrior of living stone. This Charm doubles the Immaculate’s Strength and Stamina and causes his hand-to-hand attacks to inflict lethal damage. She adds her Essence to the Accuracy, Damage and Defense values of her unarmed attacks. She soaks lethal damage with her entire Stamina and adds her Essence to her bashing and lethal soak and her Hardness. Finally, being made from stone deadens the Immaculate’s senses and strengthens her joints. She ignores all wound penalties and Crippling effects for the Charm’s duration. This Charm is incompatible with armor. This Charm's bonuses are dice added by a Charm, not an enhancement to the character's natural ratings.